Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-24

burned slowly, Dut yet uau w 10 "ntcuou
and turned up. From time to time the burn
ing end was unwound and pulled up Some
times there was carelessness and the entire
taper caught on fire from the wick. Another
device for light was a saucer or platter Of
melted lard, in which foated ball from the
sycamore or cotton wood tree. These balls,
which were dry and absorbent and quite in
fammable, burned readily, acting as q wick
and keeping the lard melted. One ball gave
fully as much light as an ordinary kerosene
lamp The tallow dip, the wax taper and
the candle each had their advocates. Other
people, who desired a more powerful illumi-
nation, returned to an even more primitive
custom and used pine knots, which in the
fireplace made glare which made a room all
ablaze with light.
People, in the country particularly, were
put to great straits for writing paper and en-
velopes. All old letters were resurrected and
all extra sheets of paper removed therefrom.
Old letters written on one side of the paper
were again brought out and the other side
used. Old books were cut up and the paper
taken for this purpose. Envelopes were cut
out of any kind of paper by the use Of
sharp knife and a wooden pattern. Cherry
tree or peach tree gum furnished the mucil-
age, being dissolved in vinegar. These en-
velopes were often made by children and sold
at from So to Sc per pack in Confederate or
state currency. Many letters were mailed in
the old style of a century since, without en-
velopes. Goose quilts furnished pens, as of
yore, and buzzard and turkey quilts were
also used. Polkberries, elderberries and the
gals of the red oak tree furnished ink, cop
Neras being used in the solution Sharpened
Iars of lead were used as pencils, while for
slate pencils old states were cut up into mar
row strips and rounded with knife Occa-
sionally partially cindered bone of chicken
was used as slate pencil, but proved rather
too soft As for school books any kind were
used, many of them being half a century old
Occasionally in the country schools no two
books could be found alike.
In the manufacture of shoe backing lamp
black or the charcoal of burned wheat or oat
straw. mixed with tallow and beeswax, was
used. Some used buttermilk. into which all
the limpDlack it would dissolve was mixed.
In the manufacture of hats and bonnets
both ingenuity and taste were shown Boys
and girls. as well as women. devoted much
time to braiding long rolls of wheat, oat or
rye straw for hat braids Palmetto was split
and braided. Artificial flowers were home
dyed and from muslin. For ordinary wear
bonners We're made in poke" style, of marsh
PUSHES, dried, cut in proper lengths and
woven in an open warp of cotton. Such bon
nets presented really tidy appearance.
Wheat or rye straw was also used the same
way. The making Of such bonnets was
'aborious, as the straws Or rushes had to he
laid in the warp one by one by hand. Old
hlTtOnS
new ones were cast from pewter Shapes cut
from small, thin gourds were covered with
10th and did good duty as buttons, The re-
air of corsets when ribs were broken was a
'uzze, but for only little while, for it was
'ound that hickory splints served the purpose
well, and white oak was as service able.
~.
Coffee was treasured, but after time the
supply gave out and store Coffee became
with not few a mere memory. Only
Trough the blockade runners could coffee he
obtained, ard of course the great mass of
'eople had to go without it. The same re,
mark applies to tea. AS a substitute for cof-
fee. rye. wheat or okra was roasted ground
md boiled in coffee pot or kettle, or sweet
'otatoes raw were sliced and roasted, then
;hopped hne and ground. Bran and bread
trusts were also used, and not a few used the
leeds OF tue persinmon and dried apples As
| substitute for sugar, sorghum or cane svrun
vas the sole reliance. Cane was cultivated
everywhere and gave good yields. In the
autumn the cane crushers made in a rude
way of wood, with big rollers placed perpen-
iicularly side by side, made creakinp noises
which could be heard at great distances. as
ne mules walked in circle around the
'rushers pulling the sweeps or beams which
urned the rollers, The cane was cut and
lauled to the erushers, and there children
we're kept at work feeding it into the rollers
"a nara TASK Not mfrequently the rollers
'auSht the hand or hands of a careless feeder.
ma then there usually followed loss of one
u oo'h arms. lhe cane juice was boiled in
'ooneh OF IRON tanks, generally the forn,er. |
Vhich was provided with a sheet iron bot |
ON IN many places the boiling was done
ordinary pots and kettles, and these were |
De seen IN rows hung on wooden poles over
log lire III the woods near the crusber |
Ai.ei poil'S Tie syrup was run into barrels |
II s.. IL "oGii not crystalline and make |
"aat IKE The Louisiana cane juice, but il |
vas used IN Its fluid or semi fluid state
or all purposes. There was often great ri |
any between nelghbors as to whose "bilin,n |
Il syrup was the best, and the "long sweet |
nlhg, as it was called, Was duly tasted and
assed upon by critical neighbors Sop,a
lines it was nearly black in color and If
ank vile taste when burned, but in other
asses 1t was golden and equal to any svrnn in
he world People soon learned to like il
'hlldren never saw sugar, and the story is
OLD OF one little Confederate who in 1ses
tier the war ended, was given a lumn of
nowy cut loaf and held it in his hand aro
lg it anxiously, but not knowing VI
tanner Of stuff il was "'
g..
An odd thing during the war WINS tho
drawing of cotton yarn" The factories
ouid not supply everybody, so it was found
est TO let people, women especially. draw
us, ana the ones who drew a ticket with
umoer had the privilege of going to The
'ctory when yarn was spun, of presenting
ne card and the proper amount of monan
I'D taking away the much desired five nonnd
lhuie OF cotton yarn. Many thousands ~
sopie picked cotton by hand, caried II With
ana cards into rolls, then spun it into warn on
d fashioned spinning wheels. The bloclada
miners always brought over tbopsopds ~
'c'oh cards, which were sold at cost 70 ~
omen. Though all this inventive e,a,;,,
40 SHOWN during the war, yet when the
sse eiioed The people abandoned the
aAeshlfts and returned to Gstore GOOD y
cane Held is now great CURIOSITY N.
use OF the mill is no longer baard -